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Plan For Success “The will to prepare is more important than the will to succeed. The dream to succeed, apart from the will to prepare, is simply wishful thinking.” ~ John C. Maxwell If you don’t have a plan for marketing your business, you are short changing yourself, your clients, your family, your future employees and the beneficiaries of your life work! I recently spoke with an entrepreneur who had a classic small business scenario. Last year he earned the highest revenues in the history of his business. And this year has been one of his worst. His business has a naturally high turnover rate, so while he was enjoying a booming year, he let his marketing slip away, which left the pipeline for this year rather empty. Sounds like a “Don’t Let This Happen To You” warning, if I ever heard one. So now that I’ve got you considering actually writing a plan, here are the key components to include… Create an Unblinking Vision – Begin with a birds-eye view of what you want your business to look like. Include everything you imagine for your ideal business scenario. Be bold… what do you really want? Clarify Your Target Audience – Review and dissect everything you know about this audience. The better you understand them, the more receptive they will be to your message. Hone Your Core Message – Write a clear and compelling message that acknowledges your audience’s hot buttons and presents your solution to them. Always write in “you” language that shows you understand what it is like to walk in your audience’s shoes. Put Your Eyes on the Prize – Outline the business goals you intend to accomplish through your marketing plan. Include specific revenue and business operations goals as well as goals to ensure that your Self care gets top priority in your work-life balance. Brainstorm Strategies & Tactics – Invite some colleagues and friends to a think-tank session to come up with a laundry list of strategies and tactics. You can narrow it down later… for now, let your creativity go wild! Shine a Light on Your Assets & Values – You may be too modest to say so out loud, but you have unique personal qualities that are the essence of who you are, which bring immense value to your business and clients. Consider how you can leverage your personal assets and values for your business. Acknowledge Resources & Roadblocks – Take some time to list equipment, people, funding, information and other resources you will need to implement the ideas in your plan. Likewise, consider the potential roadblocks that could hinder progress. Listing resources and roadblocks up front will help you deal proactively with details that could otherwise trip you up. Calendarize Your Plan – Literally pull out your calendar and plot the actions and tactics you will be implementing over the next 12 months. Schedule them right into your daily life so that they become a priority. Get Real! – Not to be a spoilsport, but I know that when you write a realistic plan, your success rate will zoom to the top of the charts. Being unrealistic only leads to overwhelm and disillusionment. Hot Tip: Share your plan with a mentor, coach or trusted colleague, so that you are accountable for each step along the way.
This article was posted on December 23, 2005
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